MG4 2023 Review

Competitively priced, the 2023 MG4 currently enjoys bragging rights as the cheapest EV in Australia – until the less-powerful BYD Dolphin arrives, undercutting it by a mere $100 – with the range opening at $38,990 and stretching as far as $55,990 plus on-road costs.

The headline price relates to the most affordable MG4 Excite 51 (with a 51kWh battery) – a model we’ve already reviewed – and from there the MG4 is offered with a 64kWh battery pack in Excite or Essence grades.

At the top of the pile is the Long Range 77 with a 77kWh battery, although it will defer to the dual-motor/all-wheel drive MG4 XPOWER that’s due late this year – and which we’ve also tested overseas.

See our earlier pricing story for a full breakdown of the MG4 launch range.

No matter which variant you choose, MG promises a sporty and fun drive thanks to 50:50 weight distribution and a low centre of gravity.

Standard equipment in Excite grades includes 17-inch alloy wheels, a 10.25-inch central touch-screen with Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, LED headlights and tail-lights, cloth upholstery and V2L (vehicle-to-load) functionality.

Essence adds larger 18-inch alloys, sat-nav, six speakers (instead of four), mixed fabric/leather-appointed trim, heating for the steering wheel and front seats, wireless phone charging, two-tone roof and a 360-degree camera. The Long Range 77 equipment mirrors the Essence grade.

The MG Pilot safety suite brings autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane assist, forward collision warning, lane departure warning, adaptive cruise control and traffic sign recognition across the range. From Essence upwards, you also get blind spot monitoring, rear exit assist, emergency lane keep assist, lane change assist and rear cross traffic alert.

MG covers the MG4 with a seven-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, which extends to the battery. Any colour other than Dover White – including the bright Brixton Blue and Volcano Orange – commands a $700 premium.

MG says there have been more than 1000 pre-orders for the MG4 and the Chinese car-maker has ambitious plans to sell more than 2000 units per month – a feat which would see the cut-price hatch rival the likes of Tesla for market share and push MG even further up the sales ladder, where it’s already one of the leading brands.

For now, all versions of the 2023 MG4 are a single-motor/rear-wheel drive affair, with the entry-level 51 delivering 125kW/250Nm and a claimed 350km driving range, while the mid-spec 64 model offers a meatier 150kW and 435-450km range.

The Long Range 77 is said to run as far as 530km and sends 180kW/350Nm to the rear wheels.

While its bigger battery makes the 77 a good 100kg heavier than the 51 and 64, the top-shelf model is the most athletic of the group, accelerating from 0-100km/h in a claimed 6.5 seconds.

There’s a lot to like about the 2023 MG4, which is bound to attract Aussies with its sharp pricing alone.

But it also comes well equipped, as we’ve just laid out, even in entry-level Excite 51 guise.

What’s more, the MG4 brings a decent driving experience in the flagship Long Range 77 and mid-spec Essence 64.

With the entry-level Excite 51, we came away with reservations last month after driving a pre-production model, but weren’t able to drive the showroom version at this week’s national launch.

On road, the Long Range 77 and Essence 64 both felt a lot more tied-down and athletic, aided by stronger performance and a little more weight on board.

A quick squirt through the Royal National Park revealed surprisingly good dynamics. Quick changes in direction were no trouble for the 1750kg Long Range 77, which felt sure-footed despite its mass. Suspension felt firmer than the pre-production Excite 51, but well-damped over bumps and potholes.

Steering response felt sharpest in Sport mode, but the change in throttle response was much more noticeable.

The two bigger-battery and higher-output MG4 models were also equipped with proper one-pedal driving, unlike the 51, but we still think the regen could provide more stopping power in its most potent setting. We still had to use the brake pedal on occasion.

The cabin is spacious – thanks to its MSP (modular scalable platform) underpinnings – and you could happily cart around four large adults. While they’ll have plenty of legroom (unless you’ve got super-tall people up front), rear passengers have to make do without air vents.

Storage, too, is impressive for a hatchback and the boot holds an okay 363 litres of gear (350L in Essence trim).

Service intervals are spaced every 24 months/40,000km. Service pricing is set at $296 for the first one and $886 for the second.

It’s easy to tell the 2023 MG4 is built to a budget, particularly inside the cabin where even the high-grade Essence and Long Range models are filled with scratchy plastics throughout. And while the partial fabric/pleather seats are super-cushiony, the fabric feels a little rough to the touch.

The eye-catching MG4 wins points for its outlandish exterior, which turns plenty of heads, but some will find it a little too edgy.

MG appears to have cut costs in the sound deadening department; we noticed wind noise filtering through the cabin up front, particularly from the driver’s side mirror, at speeds above 80km/h. Strangely, it was much more noticeable in the 64kWh variant, where the four-speaker sound system, even turned up loud, isn’t good enough to conceal it.

Calibration of the driver assist systems, such as autonomous emergency braking (AEB), also came into question during our drive when we came close to rear-ending another motorist when they unexpectedly stopped for an amber traffic light.

A moment where AEB would’ve almost certainly activated in other vehicles, our test car instead just chimed an audible warning telling the driver to brake. We would’ve expected more intervention, given how close to a collision it was.

Our time on launch was too brief – and with mixed drivers – to gauge the MG4’s energy efficiency. In the 64 and 77 variants we drove, we saw an average of 19-21kWh per 100km.

For reference, MG claims the 77 uses 14.0kWh/100km on a combined cycle, while the Excite 64 is tipped to be the most efficient at 13.0kWh/100km, followed by the Essence 64 (13.9kWh/100km) and base-spec Excite 51 at a much higher 18.4kWh/100km.

Charging from 10 to 80 per cent is said to take 75 minutes for the Long Range 77 when using a 50kW DC charger, or 38 minutes at a maximum 144kW DC charge.

We like the driver’s digital 7.0-inch instrument cluster, but while the dash and centre console layout is good, we found the central touch-screen similar to our first MG4 drive. The unit can be slow to respond to inputs and the shortcut buttons on the lower edge feel cheap.

The climate control settings aren’t intuitive and one of the shortcut buttons really should be for air recirculation or even temperature.

There’s no denying the 2023 MG4 makes a big statement, and taken at face value it’s easy to see why.

A funky colour palette to choose from, good dynamics and a five-star ANCAP safety rating are just some of the big boxes it ticks. The price is also a massive drawcard.

That said, there are other EVs on the market that’ll get you further between a charge, bring higher quality cabin materials and are more enjoyable to drive.

Trouble is, you need to be willing to fork out a lot more money to get into them.

2023 MG4 Long Range 77 at a glance:
Price: $55,990 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: Permanent magnet synchronous motor
Output: 180kW/350Nm
Transmission: Single-speed reduction gear
Battery: 77kWh lithium-ion (NMC)
Range: 530km (WLTP)
Energy consumption: 14.0kWh/100km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP 2022)